Canna (plant)

"Cannas" redirects here. For other uses, see Canna (disambiguation).
"Canna lily" redirects here. For a similarly named plant, see Calla lily.
"Cannaceae" redirects here. Not to be confused with Cannabaceae.

Canna
Canna hybrid flowers and foliage
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Kingdom: Plantae
Clade: Tracheophytes
Clade: Angiosperms
Clade: Monocots
Clade: Commelinids
Order: Zingiberales
Family: Cannaceae
Juss.[1]
Genus: Canna
L.
Species

19 classified species, see List of Canna species

Synonyms[2]
  • Cannacorus Mill.
  • Katubala Adans.
  • Xyphostylis Raf.
  • Achirida Horan
  • Distemon Bouché
  • Eurystylus Bouché

Canna or canna lily is the only genus of flowering plants in the family Cannaceae, consisting of 10 species.[3][4][5][6] All of the genus's species are native to the American tropics[7] and were naturalized in Europe, India and Africa in the 1860s.[8] Although they grow native to the tropics, most cultivars have been developed in temperate climates and are easy to grow in most countries of the world, as long as they receive at least 6–8 hours average sunlight during the summer, and are moved to a warm location for the winter. See the Canna cultivar gallery for photographs of Canna cultivars.

Cannas are not true lilies, but have been assigned by the APG II system of 2003 to the order Zingiberales in the monocot clade Commelinids, together with their closest relatives, the gingers, spiral gingers, bananas, arrowroots, heliconias, and birds of paradise.[9]

The plants have large foliage, so horticulturists have developed selected forms as large-flowered garden plants. Cannas are also used in agriculture as a source of starch for human and animal consumption.[9] C. indica and C. glauca have been grown into many cultivars in India and Africa.[7]

  1. ^ Angiosperm Phylogeny Group (2009), "An update of the Angiosperm Phylogeny Group classification for the orders and families of flowering plants: APG III", Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 161 (2): 105–121, doi:10.1111/j.1095-8339.2009.00996.x, hdl:10654/18083
  2. ^ "Canna L." Plants of the World Online. Royal Botanical Gardens, Kew. 2023. Retrieved 22 August 2023.
  3. ^ Christenhusz, M. J. M.; Byng, J. W. (2016). "The number of known plants species in the world and its annual increase". Phytotaxa. 261 (3): 201–217. doi:10.11646/phytotaxa.261.3.1.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Tanaka was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Cooke was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ The Cannaceae of the World, H. Maas-van der Kamer & P.J.M. Maas, BLUMEA 53: 247-318
  7. ^ a b Lamarck, Jean-Baptiste. Botanical Encyclelopédie. [page needed]
  8. ^ Chaté, E. (1867). Le Canna, son histoire, sa culture. Libraire Centrale d'Agriculture et de Jardinage [page needed]
  9. ^ a b Khoshoo, T.N. & Guha, I. – Origin and Evolution of Cultivated Cannas. Vikas Publishing House [page needed]